‘Tis But a Flesh Wound

Sean Taylor died on 27 November at the age of 24. As is expected, the puff pieces began, lionizing the deceased. Whilst I’m sure his death is a tragedy for his mom and himself, I don’t know the bloke well enough to comment on whether his death is the tragedy for us all that the media would have us believe.

Apparently someone broke into Taylor’s home eight days prior to his death, ransacked it, and left a knife on a bed. Early reports indicate that on the night before his death kicked in the bedroom door and fired two shots at him. One of the bullets hit Taylor in the upper leg. Such an injury would be negligible to John McClane and his peers, but severed Taylor’s femoral artery, which ultimately turned out to be fatal.

On the face of it this may appear to be a random act of violence. However, when considered with Taylor’s history of armed confrontation, it may seem a bit different. Perhaps the knife was intended as a warning. Certainly burglars rarely initiate violence, preferring to flee with the booty. Rather, someone busting into a room and firing at another sounds more like a hit.

Whatever really happened (if we’ll ever know) there is a lesson to be learned: minor injuries in the movies are life-threatening injuries in reality, so always be prepared.